When a passageway or a hole in a metal component of industrial equipment is found to be oversized for a given operational parameter or other reason, it may be difficult and/or uneconomical to reduce the hole size. For example, a fuel nozzle flange hole and the like may be found to be oversized for a given airflow specification. Known methods of reducing hole size include the use of a flat faced punch to ovalize iteratively the holes in an effort to restrict the flow therethrough. After a number of adjustment cycles, however, the component may be scrapped due to overworking of the metal. Welding the hole and then reopening may be a further option. This technique, however, may be expensive and time consuming and also may have an impact on the integrity of the component.
There is thus a desire for improved hole reducing tools and techniques that may provide hole size adjustment with reduced scrapping due to overworking of the metal component. Moreover, such improved hole reducing tools and techniques may provide faster and more accurate adjustments for improved overall efficiency and extended performance.